Just doing, day 1

Morning flies by me. Jeff’s off to work. Asa is teething like mad, he’s got a molar on each side coming in, and I’ve caved and given him Ibuprofen to help him relax. Laundry goes in, breakfast is had… yeah. Oh, and I do an update here. Finally the boy sleeps, and so I get a little work done.

I check the chickens and the garden. We’ve got our first zucchini!

10 cubic yards of wood chips get delivered. We have serious mulching plans…

 
Quick lunch of leftover ham, beans, and rice, with a little cheese and salsa mixed in. Surprisingly good.

 
Vera and Asa thought so too. I fold laundry.

 
I stop for mid-day coffee, and think about my love/hate relationship with it. Mostly love though, I think.

 
I turn this…

 
Into this.
 
There’s something about a freshly made bed that just beckons you to roll around on it. My kids certainly seem to agree with me there. I decide to retire the wonderful cream colored down comforter until I actually get around to making a cover for it. I’m hoping that will come together fast- I love the thing! But, it’s crazy for me to use it without a cover- you know, with two kids and a dog and all and that whole "dry clean only" deal.


 

Darn teeth. Little guy wants to be happy…

 
We decide to play and snuggle for a while. Vera plays some too, but she mostly pesters me about a doll she wants.


 

I’m trying to follow this "Flylady" routine. I don’t do everything they suggest, but I’m trying to do a little every day. She says to spend a couple of minutes clearing off a "hot spot". What’s a "hot spot", you ask? Well, take a look. This is a spot that I just dump on. It only took me five minutes to turn it into something really nice to look at… 

 
And you see, this is why I am practicing "Just doing". Because I’ve looked at the top of that dresser for like a month, when all the while it would have only taken five minutes to actually deal with.

 
I felt so good about that small change, that I saw my little shelf next to my side of the bed and thought I would get around to actually putting some lighting up there like I’ve wanted for ages. So fast. So satisfying.

 
Vera really really really wants this American Girl doll. The story is- I’ve got one that she plays with. I saved up a bunch of my own money when I was a little girl and chose very carefully what I wanted. I got one, and her bed and nightstand, and some changes of clothes. I’ve held on to her for almost 20 years, and Vera loves her. She started to ask me all about how I got her, etc., and so I told her the story. She wanted to see the "store", and so I showed her. And then came the obsessing. She really really really wants a friend for Addy (my doll). Anyway. Jeff and I told her no at first, and I felt bad for even showing her the website. Silly Mama. Then later, we talked about it, and realized that my doll, which is thoroughly played with, is in great condition. Her hair is all there, she doesn’t have a tear anywhere. She’s almost as good as new. They are really nice well-made dolls, and it wouldn’t be that terrible to get her something new that would be so high quality. So we softened up and thought, maybe it would make a nice winter solstice present. But she has been so interested in it, that we decided to have her earn the doll right now. We have a little extra money right now, and we won’t soon with our housemate moving out. So. Vera has a chart. She gets to earn her doll by getting 5 stickers a day for 10 days. I know, we’re softies… Today she got all five and was very helpful. She cleaned up all the baby toys, she helped to entertain Asa, she cleaned up her sandbox area, etc. And best of all, she’s trotting around all day saying "I’m gonna earn my spensive doll that’s a friend for Addy, and I’m gonna earn it!"

 
— 
We headed outside.

 
Time to tackle the garlic.


 

One bed down.


 

The awning. We built an awning last week. And when I say "we", I mean my awesome Jeff. I guess I helped by bringing water and asking questions… and I watched the kids, and sometimes I handed him screws and held a piece of wood steady. And I made food. But yeah, he’s great. It went up in just a weekend. Here’s before:

 
During.

After.

 

You can see it’s just a grassy floor.

 
Yesterday Jeff leveled the ground, and so tonight we layed down cardboard and filled it with wood chips. And by "we" I mean Jeff… What? I was busy at the park with the babes having a lovely potluck with friends. I mean, I helped when I got back… Oh geez. I can just tell that Jeff is gonna show me up in this little "Just doing" series… He’s an awesome doer, that man. Anyway, I really like the chips for the patio. It’s cheap, it’s earthy, and I think it’s pretty.

 
I started cleaning up the garlic and setting it out to cure.
 
Vera and baby went to sleep, and then Jeff went out to make a little music with a friend. And me? I’ve got a date now with a snack and my book, all under my new bedside light. 

 
How was your day? What have you been doing?
 
Gracie
Gracie

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